Pathways to Truth: The Importance of Books in the Life of a Child
by Christa Hill
I have loved books for a long time. From the time I was a toddler, my parents read to me and took me to the library for reading programs and armloads of borrowed books. In elementary school, I was (and, admittedly, occasionally still am) the girl who searched the back of many closets hoping that I would finally get to Narnia.
During my middle school years, I dreamed of being a brilliant ace detective like my favorite heroines Nancy Drew and Juli Scott, the protagonist of a Christian mystery series. As I became a teenager, I loved to visit distant imaginary lands in the books I read. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series, with its ordinary characters who do extraordinary deeds, was a fast favorite. I wished (perhaps foolishly) that, instead of dealing with high school drama, I could instead become the heroine of stories like these. High school was also when a dedicated English teacher introduced us to the classics, an event that greatly influenced who I am today by fostering a deep love for literature in me.
I share my story, which I am sure is not unique, to illustrate the profound impact that reading can have on a child’s life. Indeed, early literacy has many significant cognitive and educational benefits for children.[1] However, good books can play the more crucial role of helping children build character and develop a Christian worldview as they encounter truth through their reading. Gladys Hunt writes,
Children and books go together in a special way. I can’t imagine any pleasure greater than bringing to the uncluttered, supple mind of a child the delight of knowing the many rich things God has given us to enjoy. Parents [and I would add anyone actively involved in the life of a child] have this wonderful privilege, and books are their keenest tools.[2]
Books allow children to explore challenging topics, inspire them to become better versions of themselves, and, ultimately, point to the Truth.
Explore
First, good books allow children to explore new ideas and wrestle with big concepts. By living vicariously through novels’ protagonists, children gain appropriate exposure to difficult topics. When children read or listen to quality books that tackle issues like prejudice, bullying, war, or poverty, they gain an awareness of these problems that, with good guidance, can help them develop a Christian worldview on these issues.
For example, Paula Fox’s novel The Slave Dancer allows its reader to witness the horrors of slavery through the eyes of Jessie Bollier, a young boy kidnapped to play his pipe on a slave ship. As children interact with the book, they can come to understand that all humans are created in God’s image and can learn to stand up for the disadvantaged.
Similarly, books can help children cope with difficult circumstances they are facing in real life. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a good example of a book that could help a child deal with the sudden death of a loved one. When children can make connections with characters facing challenges similar to their own and when they see these characters persevere through difficulties, they are encouraged to persevere themselves. In fact, the profession of counseling often uses the reading of books to help readers cope with difficult situations in their lives (this is called bibliotherapy).
Inspire
Second, good books can inspire children to become better versions of themselves and thus serve as character building tools. Paterson, who is the daughter of missionaries and a prominent children’s author, likens reading a good book to a conversion experience because a good book changes the reader.[3] Strong characters often serve as role models for children, especially when a child identifies with the character.
For instance, Meg from A Wrinkle in Time is a brilliant girl who struggles with feeling like an outsider, controlling her temper, and dealing with the seeming abandonment of her father. Through her adventures in the novel, though, she gains confidence and bravery and learns how to love others deeply even when love is difficult.
Boys might identify more with the clever and mischievous Sam Gribley, the protagonist of My Side of the Mountain. Sam runs away from his family apartment in New York to live on his own in the wild. He ingeniously takes care of himself, building a sturdy shelter, gathering his own food, and even training a falcon. His resourcefulness and independence are important, but, ultimately, Sam learns that he also needs the family he loves and misses.
Biographies of great men and women also have the ability to inspire children. Not only do they gain an awareness of the past from biographies, but they are also exposed to real-world examples of bravery and ingenuity. Moreover, biographies of faithful believers can encourage young readers in their own faith as they witness God’s faithfulness in the lives of others. They might gain courage by riding the bus with Rosa Parks or spending time in a prison camp with Corrie Ten Boom. Perhaps a biography of Hudson Taylor or Amy Carmichael could be a tool the Lord uses to begin to cause a young reader to consider missionary service.
All Truth Is God’s Truth
Finally, good books help children learn truth about life and the world around them and can point to the Ultimate Truth. Books do not necessarily have to be labeled “Christian” to impart deep, eternal, and life-changing truths to readers, and this is often especially the case in children’s literature. Sheryl O’Sullivan observes, “Whether named or unnamed, God is present in all manner of children’s literature, even that which is ostensibly written for the secular market.”[4] Furthermore, Sullivan contends that teaching children to identify God’s presence in their reading will help them do so in all areas of their lives.[5]
Here, Sullivan echoes the church father Augustine of Hippo who wrote, “A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found.”[6] While fiction “is not the Truth,” it serves as a “signpost” that points to the Truth and can be “a voice crying in our wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’”[7]
However, when selecting books for children, be careful to avoid overly-didactic works. These books tend to be poor-quality, preachy works with a shallow plot and underdeveloped characters that exist only to make a “point.” Many children’s authors, both secular and Christian, feel that they must teach children an obvious lesson; a good author, on the other hand, teaches his reader in more subtle ways, realizing that the purpose of all good art is both to teach and to delight. Gladys Hunt wisely observes,
Cruelty, evil, and greed come into clear focus against kindness, truth, and honor in a well-written story. I say well-written because nothing offends a child more than having to be told what is base or noble and good. This painful spelling out of what one is supposed to learn from a story evidences the author’s inability to create valid characters in a real-life plot. And it insults children.[8]
Practical Steps to Encouraging Reading
Parents and friends of children can take several steps to help encourage a love of reading in the lives of children. They can take children to a library or bookstore where they encourage the child to choose a book. They can listen to good audiobooks on road trips or during mundane chores. They can give books as gifts.
However, perhaps the best thing that adults can do to encourage children to become readers is to set a good example by reading for themselves and by reading to and with the children in their lives. Conversations about enjoyable, quality stories will stick with children.
Conclusion
Children who read books that encourage exploration, inspire them to be the best person they can be, and lead them to truth are children who will “who have the largest worldview, who have an uncommon delight in what is good and true and beautiful—and an uncommon commitment to it.”[9]
Reading has the power to be a force for much good in the life of children, both in the present and in the future as they grow into who they will become. Enjoying and discussing good books together with children can have eternal ramifications for them. Books become the pathways that lead children to delight in, believe in, and advocate for Truth.
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About the Author: Christa Hill graduated from Welch College with a B.A. in English in 2011. She taught middle and high school English for three years before returning to the college in 2014 where she now serves as Library Manager. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Library and Information Studies through the University of Alabama. Her interests include literature, cooking, movies, and British television.
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[1] Jim Trelease’s excellent work The Read-Aloud Handbook (Seventh Edition, Penguin Books, 2013) discusses these benefits at length and is a great resource for helping parents promote a culture of literacy in their home.
[2] Gladys Hunt, Honey for a Child’s Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life, 4th Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: 2002), 17.
[3] Katherine Paterson, Gates of Excellence (New York: Elsevier/Nelson Books, 1981), 59; cited by Hazel Morris, “Words of Power and Grace: God’s Story in Children’s Literature,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 37, no. 3 (Summer 1995): 21.
[4] Sheryl O’Sullivan, “The Invisible Being: Finding Images of God in Secular Children’s Literature,” Christian Education Journal, Series 3, Vol. 3, no. 1 (Spring 2006): 43.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, edited and translated by R.P.H. Green (Oxford: Clarendon Press Oxford, 1995), 91.
[7] Paterson, 21.
[8] Hunt, 82.
[9] Ibid., 99.
February 16, 2016
This is wonderful, Christa! It seems often we hear only about the intellectual benefits of reading to children, so I really appreciate that you focus on the spiritual benefits children also receive from reading.